Casualties from mob lynching more than doubled in 2024: ASK

The number of people killed in mob lynching has more than doubled in 2024 as compared to the previous year, human rights organisation Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK) has said.

The organisation said this in a report on the rights situation in the country in 2024. The report says the incidents of killing people in the name of mob justice were quite concerning.

The ASK published the report on Tuesday, the last day of the year. The agency prepared the report on the basis of media reports. It says some 128 people were killed in mob violence in 2024, including 57 in Dhaka division, 19 in Rajshahi, 17 in Chattogram, 14 in Khulna, seven in Barishal, five each in Rangpur and Mymensingh and four in Sylhet.

Referring to the incidents of mob justice, the report says the incident of beating a youth to death at Dhaka University sparked harsh criticism across the country. Apart from that leaders and activists of political parties are being subjected to mob justice too.

Former leader of Rajshahi University unit of Bangladesh Chhatra League, Abdullah Al Masud, was beaten to death on 7 September. He was assaulted in the Binodpur market near the university campus. He was later taken to a hospital where he breathed his last after midnight.

Masud was the former assistant secretary of the BCL unit at RU and a former member of the central committee. He lost one of his legs in an attack in front of the Zia residential hall at RU before. He also sustained severe injuries on his other leg too. He used an artificial leg for moving.

The ASK report says although the number of extrajudicial killings has come down, it has not stopped completely. Even, it has not been possible to ensure a neutral investigation and justice over these incidents.

There were reports of some 21 extrajudicial killings in Bangladesh in 2024, including cases of death in custody of law enforcement agencies, it added.

The report also said that six of them died due to injuries from physical torture in police custody, three were shot dead by the police, one committed suicide in police custody, one died of physical torture in the custody of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), one were killed in BGB crossfire, seven died of physical torture after being arrested by joint force, one died due to torture in the custody of Bangladesh Navy and one were killed while in the custody of the Department of Narcotic Control.

Of those 21 people, 12 died after the interim government assumed office on 8 August.

Although torture and other atrocious, inhumane or humiliating activities are prohibited by the laws of the country, the members of law enforcement agencies were involved in such practices. Several incidents of torture occurred in the custody of law enforcement agencies. There are allegations of severe torture at police stations to get confessions from the detained people forcefully.

Quoting the Management Information System (MIS) website of the Health Services Department under the health ministry, the ASK report further says a total of 858 people were killed and 11,551 were injured, centering the anti-discrimination student movement.

The report says, of the deceased, 11 were women and 129 were aged below 18. The incidents of child killing, in particular those who were killed in their own house during the July uprising, were quite heart wrenching. The list of the deceased includes students, workers, professionals and leaders and activists of various political parties.

According to the ASK, there are reports of a total of 147 incidents of vandalising houses, temples and business establishments of the Hindu community across the country.

Some 408 households were vandalised in these incidents, including 36 cases of arson. Besides, there have been reports of 113 incidents of vandalising business establishments owned by the minority community, 32 incidents of attack on temples and mosques of the Ahmadia sect and 92 incidents of vandalising idols in 92 temples.

Some three Hindu citizens and one citizen from the Ahmadia sect were killed and 82 were injured in these students.

The ASK says like the previous years, 2024 also saw several incidents of human rights violation both on plain lands and hill areas.

Houses of 17 families from the Tripura community were burnt down in the dead of the night on 24 December in the Sarai Tangojhiri area in Lama upazila of Bandarban. The locals claim some miscreants demanded tolls from them before the incident.

On 18 September, a youth, Md Mamun, was beaten to death by a mob on the allegation of stealing a motorcycle, which sparked a series of clashes between locals and the members of Bengali community living in hill areas in Khagrachhari and Bandarban.

Some four men were killed and 50 were injured in these incidents. Several houses and business establishments came under attack as well at the time.

The report further says there have been several reports of attacks on indigenous communities and looting, vandalising and torching their houses in the first three days after the fall of the previous government from 5 to 7 August.

Some 70 indigenous families came under attack in different places across the country including Rajshahi, Naogaon, Chapainawabganj, Dinajpur and Thakurgaon. In particular, indigenous communities in six upazilas of Dinajpur were assaulted. The lone Sidhu-Kanu sculpture of the country was demolished.

*This report appeared on the print and online versions of Prothom Alo and has been rewritten in English by Ashish Basu